Liam's Bride: BBW Werebear Romance (Clan Conroy Brides Book 1) by Emma Alisyn Read Free Book Online Page B

well."
    Meredith hesitated. If he'd just invited her, her answer would have been a flat out refusal. But Brick was watching, and Meredith was conscious of the importance for the girl to participate in as many positive social interactions with adults as possible.
    "Okay. Let me go in my office and grab my planner and notebooks."
     
     
     
    "So..." Liam turned to the human teenager. "Have you been with Teens and Greens long?"
    The girl shrugged, eyeing him sideways. "About two years."
    "Do you like it?"
    She turned her head to face him fully, lip curling. "I'm still here, aren't I?"
    Spare him from the scorn of children. "Seems like it. Is Meredith a good teacher?" The girl- Brick? That couldn’t be her name- frowned at him.
    "Why don’t you let the garden tell you whether she's a good teacher. We make money with our produce. And it tastes good, too."
    "Huh." He supposed that logic made sense. As a chef, the proof of his skill was on the plate. Standing, he wandered further into the garden, taking a closer look at various plants.
    "So are you going to kick us out?" the girl asked. He turned around, studying her. She was on her feet now, arms folded nonchalantly. But her eyes were a little too serious, belying the casual pose.
    “It means a lot to you, doesn’t it? Most teenagers would be somewhere fun on a weekend.”
    “You’re a frou frou chef and growing real food isn’t fun to you?”
    Liam laughed. “It is to me . But I’m a bit older than you.” He studied her, considering. “Or is it that there just isn’t anywhere fun in this small place to go?”
    She shrugged, looking down. Liam dropped the subject, sensing something was wrong- but it wasn’t his business.
    “So you kicking us out or what? You changed the subject.”
    "No, I’m not kicking you out. Meredith and I are going to work out an arrangement."
    "Cool." Her head rose. "Do you like her?"
    "What?"
    She tilted her head, hacked off dark hair brushing thin shoulders. "I’m not stupid. And I’m not a kid. But she doesn’t date much, so maybe you wanna leave her alone."
    Really. "I think I’d like to get to know her better. She seems... interesting."
    "Yeah. Well, just make sure when you're getting to know her better, you're treating her decent. She doesn’t deserve to be played."
    Was this how normal teenage girls talked? He couldn’t remember ever having this kind of conversation with a kid before.
    "I don’t play games, and I don’t want to hurt her."
    "Cool. Why don’t I give you a tour?"
    They spent the next several minutes going through the various plants in the garden. Brick was knowledgeable, talking with a confidence that demanded respect. Both for her, and for her teacher.
    After a while Liam looked back towards the building. "I’m going to go see what's taking Meredith so long," he said. "She may have decided to skip out on us." He didn't really know her, but his Bear already had a good feel for the woman's personality. And as a man, he recognized her reluctant attraction for what it was. She leaned to close to the skittish side of the female spectrum for his comfort. He couldn’t court a woman who didn’t want to be courted. Well, he could . It would just make things more difficult.
     
     
     
    She’d escaped into her office, walking fast. Considered texting Brick a quick message to abandon ship while Liam was unaware. Her thumbs hovered over the cell before she slid it back into her pocket with a sigh. It would probably be worse to have to explain to her future boss why she had snuck away. Better to just ride out this attraction until its end. He might imply his Bear was prodding him towards her, but Meredith wasn’t quite sure she believed it. He'd seen her for the first time, what, three days ago? Meredith didn't believe in instalove, or even instalust. Though her previously dormant body was doing its best to convince her otherwise.
    Instead she texted Tamar, asking if she thought it was a good idea to go to Liam’s